


Runaway

by Eldritch_Salamander



Category: Prototype (Video Games)
Genre: Established Friendship, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Other, References to Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 13:32:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18692494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eldritch_Salamander/pseuds/Eldritch_Salamander
Summary: Reader meets Mercer during a very rough emotional time and is surprised that he tries to help them get through this turmoil. Sometimes you just got to run away from your problems for a little bit. Of course, he isn’t always the most elegant about his idea of a runaway.While I am female ,the reader is kept ambiguous so anyone can enjoy this , I hope <3  .Based on my daydreams of the song Runaway (U & I) · GalantisDisclaimer:I do not own the rights to Prototype or the character Alex Mercer who belongs to Activision.





	Runaway

      Streetlights, headlights, neon lights galore but from up here it looks like a draping of the night sky over an uneven surface. It gave the impression of depths so deep you would get lost in way before your feet slipped off the asphalt. Up high away from the bustle the pointless stress and constant flux was both a reprieve and prison for it was so lonely up here.  The nausea this thought cultivated into restlessness and fluidity that grew into spasms and a chill daring you to take the step. Make the big step forward and fall to the chaos. After all this building was tall enough if you did it would be enough to end it.

       Those thoughts were plaguing you more and more lately and it was becoming overwhelming. Moving here for your graduate program and working was just sucking the life right out.  The numbness, just mindlessly working on your thesis and your crappy job that didn’t appreciate you. Tears welled up in your eyes and you brushed them away with the hem of your sleeve while you continued to lean against the railing of the rooftop of your apartment building. The night was chilly, and you had come up here in your cashmere shawl and gym cloths to try to distance yourself from the self-destructive thoughts. Rooftops had changed from a seldom thought of feature to an alcove of meditation for you. Rarely did anyone in your apartment building come up here and the vines growing over the siding and walkway made it almost wild. Like a call to the wild in your heart, an escape from this concrete prison.

       Overwhelmed with a knot building up in your throat and a vice grip on your heart control was slipping to not to cry out. This place stole your voice, your work stole your passion, and your schooling stole your energy. The shaking of your shoulders and tears streaming down prevented any type of detailed execution. But never less you climbed up over the railing, now standing on the very edge of the roof with your back pressed against the railing.  Shaky hands wet with tears were not the best to tryst. However, you were driven by pure desperation now to escape, to run away.

        Shuddering with fear and determination you finally screamed out, “I want to run away, anywhere out of here just please someone get me out of here”. It was at no one but at the same time at everyone. A primal urge to announce to something, to make your pain known even if it did not help it eased you.

        Slowly scuffing one foot out and holding onto the railing you decided this was it. You were done suffering.

        “Sounds like you’re having a bad night.”

         Gasping you looked back across the railing and there was the virus shape shifting monster, Alex Mercer. You didn’t think he would hear you let alone check up on you. While you two had developed a friendship, if you could call it that, after a similar night like this. Your rooftop chats had become a weekly thing, but you had been so busy lately and he had disappeared after things had toned down. You didn’t expect to see him again while you were emotionally a wreck again. Not exactly the best way you wanted to see him after you had started to grow fond of his company. It wouldn't be too far a stretch to say that you had developed a crush on him as taboo as that felt considering what he was, but that didn't really matter to you.

         “We really need to stop meeting like this, Alex.”

          But he stayed silent, the predatory stare merely enhanced by how his gray blue eyes seemed to glow under his hood. It wasn’t a hungry or sexual gaze but rather just how a carnivore looked at the world. The way he slinked around in the shadows created by the moon light reminded you of a jaguar or panther. Slow, quiet and powerful with full control of its domain yet retaining a curiosity that was shielded by bristling fangs and claws. The few times he would come closer to you like this was a treat, after all he was dangerous and rarely got this close to anyone. You wondered how lonely it must be.

           “I get that you’re lonely… but that’s not the answer, it’s not going to make you feel better.”

            His gravelly voice was loud enough for you to hear but his tone was far from aggressive or corrective. Almost sympathetic as if he was speaking from experience.  His words really did make you feel better after all no one had said that to you. Now standing adjacent to you by the railing, he leaned against it. Gingerly he reached out to your arm but pulled back obviously unsure to touch you.  You slowly turned to face him both hands off the railing still wiping tears away and feeling self-conscious about how red you were. Not noticing your footing, the cement at the edge where you stood crumbled and collapsed tumbling you and the edge towards the ground.

        You screamed your heart out and while falling from the rooftop clinging desperately to your shawl fluttering you thought the irony in the situation. Here you were plummeting to your death right as you got to talk to your crush and you thought things might pick up. What a way to go you thought tears bubbling back up and now passing into acceptance.

      Before you could slip any further into your descent a long tendril shoots down faster than you scooped you around the waist tightly and yanks you up.  Slammed against your savior you fumble trying to get your hair and shawl out of your eyes. Mercer chuckles and smiles at you holding you around the waist against his chest as his other arm is transformed into claws that sunk into the side of the building anchoring the two of you midway down the building dangling above the streetlights and traffic.  Finally, you were able to process all that just occurred and looking up at him you start to giggle a little. Dangling halfway down the building you fell from it was strange to see him as your rescuer, but it could have been worse. You could have been dead. In that moment you felt a deep sharp stab in your chest at what just happened. Almost dying made you feel guilt for trying and at the same time guilt for failing. Tears start to bubble up in your eyes again.

      Before you can hide your embarrassment from crying again you feel a hand brush softly at your cheek and wipe your tears away followed by a low hushing. His hands were rough to the touch, but he was gentle. Sniffling you looked up at him and your gaze was met with one of concern. From this angle you could clearly see his cold blue eyes no longer hidden by his hood, they shined without light in cold contrast to how hot his skin felt.

         “If you wanted to get away, you should have asked”, he pulled you from your thoughts back to the present, pressed against him dangling above the city.  
  
          “I haven’t seen you in months. I wasn’t sure, I-I got so overwhelmed, so alone, so-”

          “I’ve missed you”

          “y-you do?”

     He just nods at you lips parted like he was going to speak but lost his voice. It’s strange to see him like this, dare he be acting more human. Not what you were expecting but it was the most pleasant surprise of the evening. Wrapping your arms around his chest you hugged onto him tightly. You felt him stiffen reflexively like a caged animal. He didn’t exactly have the best interactions with people let alone trust them. It was endearing that your show of affection could make this destructive monster stiffen like prey.

“Thank you, I missed you more than I thought I did, “

           You look up at him again and you see his extremely pale complexion has turned to blush highlighting his grey blue eyes more. Their glowing from the darkened circles around his eyes and its just making his embarrassment even more noticeable. Its hard for you to not lean up closer. He looks handsome in this lighting, accenting the hard angles of his face and for once casting the light from below letting you see his face clearly. Everything about him is sharp and his harsh facial features have this captivating charm like touching him might feel like the edge of a knife on your hand.

            His lips parted again like he wanted to speak, your faces close enough you could hear his breathing stop. Was he scared? You weren’t sure but you felt pulled towards him and it felt hard to breathe. He pressed his forehead against yours and your lips brush ever so slightly, you can feel his breath. You wanted to just kiss him and feel if those lips were as soft as you imagined. Your eyes meet his and there is a pause. Like he wanted to ravenously eat you and he could at this moment but he was waiting for your approval. Did he want this as much as you?  
            As you lean closer and take this bold first move gravity shifted. The brick siding of the building that Mercer’s claw hook had dug into and was suspending you two down the side of the building finally gave out. Cheap building material on old buildings, total killjoys. So much for being bold and making the first move. Stupid building code violations.

            You fall forward into Mercer as he falls backwards, and for a moment of slow-motion you feel like you are flying. Before true panic sets in you are grabbed snugly around the waist and thrown up through the air after a rough lurch. Realizing Mercer has snapped to, you hung on tightly to his jacket preparing for the harsh landings and jaw shaking jumps. But only once are you rattled against his frame.

            “If you ever want to actually runaway, I can help.”  
  
            You look up at him and he is side eying at you while jumping up to a rooftop. He only loosens his grip around your waist and looking off away from you awaiting your response. Is he serious? You two were friends in a lose way but you didn’t think he would go that far to help you. Dis he trust you to enough to open up like this or had he felt the same way at one point?

            “I mean where would I go? I got my job and uni an- “

            “Doesn’t matter, wherever you want. Just go, no plans”

            “Why are you offering to help me?”

            “Take it or leave it.”

            He grabs your arm a tad rougher than earlier and sprints toward the edge of the rooftop dragging you along, your feet unable to keep up tripping and stumbling. You struggle in his grip and he leaps off with primal force, throwing you forward. It’s exhilarating and terrifying and you scream with your shawl thrashing around you, hopeless wings for a falling dove. This is not what you wanted and you are cursing Mercer and yourself for starting to trust him.

            You hear a hoarse laughing and you see Mercer falling near you before his whip-like tendril arm snakes around your waist and pulls you to him as you two descend. Your blood is roaring in your ears, the feral scream of terror as you fall but Mercer is looking at you with a playful grin. Is he toying with you or are you really going to die? The question burns in your mind. But right before you both hit a building rooftop Mercer throws you again in the air, electing a terrified scream from you and you cling to the shawl. This time when he greets you his tendril arms coils around your waist and one partially human cups your face. The sharp claw and hot biomass feel so bizarre on your skin. Almost as if it could burn right through you and shred you at the cellular layer, he could after all consume you like you have seen him slice though countless infected. That was the weird excitement you thought, he was so restrained but for how long?

            “hehehe what’s wrong? Don’t trust me?”  
  
            He has you pulled so close and nuzzles your cheek while grinning his eyes locked on yours. You are reminded that he is in full control gliding up here over rooftops, a predator in its domain. His breath is husky for moment even though these jumps are effortless. Your closeness earlier must have bothered him enough to want to take control of this encounter. The grin turns to a slight snarl but it’s not aggressive.  
            “If I let you, you better not drop me”

            “I won’t drop you, I’m just having fun “

            With that he closes the distance between you two and the kiss a bit forceful like he has been craving it for a while. As your hands snake up into his messy hair under his hoodie you realize your forearms sink into the collar of his outer jacket a bit. Its unbearably warm and you can feel a pulse through the biomass a reminder that he is not human. He gasps against your lips and you can’t help but smile and teasingly bite his lower lip. Growling he pulls you closer huffing and kissing you rougher, his teeth grazing your lips. Ravenously he maps the contours of your lips and the tendrils trace your hips, like he is making a mental map of you just enthralled in the moment. Pressed against his body you feel tendrils slide over your bare skin on your shoulders, leaving a slight burn in their wake. There is a tension in him to consume you and its evident the desire is second stage but still forceful. He is surprisingly a good kisser for a virus, or was it all the collective memories? Whatever it doesn’t matter your just wrapped up in the moment and sinking into his form.

            Struck out of your intimate engagement you feel him crash as elegantly as possible onto a tall rooftop. Huffing he breaks from your kiss and is eyeing you, his eyes glowing in more ways than one. What would he do if you two had more time? The thoughts of being consumed excited you bringing a heat to your cheeks and down your navel. Both taking a few moments to compose yourselves you look out from this high vantage point and its beautiful. You realize why he enjoys gliding around the city so much and probably brought you out in his rough way of surprising you.  
  
            “Sometimes its better to just get away for things for a bit, “it’s like he read your thoughts.

            “Thank you, Alex, for everything “

            “See I didn’t drop you. “

            “hahaah well you are a virus of your word, aren’t you?”

  
            He huffs at your comment and offers you his hand, his biomass rippling up his jacket tendrils undulating and returning it to his human disguise. This time he holds you bridle style while leaping back towards your apartment and it’s a much smoother fly. Its still a bit scary but you hold on tight to him and you swear you can see him blush when illuminated by the lights on passing buildings. Did you two have feelings this whole time? Maybe, but for once life doesn’t feel so vapid, it just got a lot more exciting.

            Finally coming to the end of your exciting escapade Mercer sets you down gently back onto your apartment rooftop. You turn to him and see a soft smile on his cold features, its refreshing and was a 180 from the beginning of your time tonight. The city lights below don’t feel so foreign and looking back at him you smile moving closer to hug him. He doesn’t move but doesn’t flinch hugging you back gently, it feels genuine. He idly adjusts your shawl on you chuckling how it’s been all sorts of disheveled. You two chuckle a little, its not as awkward but it’s still embarrassing in a blissful way.  
  
            “That offer still stands”  
  
            “You know I think I would prefer us get coffee tomorrow night instead. I kind of want to see where things go”  
  
            “I would like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to write a little bit of this scene I got stuck in my mind, it fits into some of the other stuff I'm working on so there will be more fluff and eventual smut. A more comforting and sympathetic Mercer really gets me in the feelings. It gets lonely at the top of the food chain and I picture he might relate to a reader with self-destructive thoughts. Sometimes all you need is comfort in the darkest times. Don’t give up and let the world win.


End file.
